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A MAN jumped to his death from the 23rd floor of a Salford tower block after eating mind-altering magic mushrooms.

An inquest heard that Robert McCracken, 31, leapt through a glass window of his flat in Briar Hill Court, Pendleton.

He had taken a potent Hawaiian mushroom and became agitated and panicked when he feared a taxi driver was chasing him for an unpaid fare.

The inquest was told that Mr McCracken was a happy, outgoing person and had plans to start a new life in another city and to take a holiday.

Coroner Jennifer Leeming said his death was not suicide and was directly linked to him taking the mushrooms.

When Mr McCracken took the mushrooms, in March last year, it was legal to buy them and eat them in their raw state. It was only against the law to dry, cook or "prepare" the mushrooms.

From April 7, under the 2005 Drugs Act, all fungus containing the active ingredient in magic mushrooms - psilocin - became illegal and a Class A drugs.

The inquest heard that Mr McCracken and his girlfriend, Emily Gascoyne, had bought three packs of the magic mushrooms from a shop in central Manchester.

Miss Gascoyne had asked for a Columbian type, but there was none in stock, so it was suggested they try a Hawaiian variety, which was stronger.They then went with friends to various pubs. At a club in the city they decided to eat some of the mushrooms.

Miss Gascoyne told the hearing she was surprised how strong they were and they started having an effect within ten minutes.

The couple could not stop laughing and felt they were in a completely different place.

They got a taxi to their flat but did not recognise streets on the journey. The effect of this left them scared.

They then realised they had no money to pay for the taxi. Miss Gascoyne tried to get some money from a cash machine but because of her state was unable to do so. They decided to run off from the taxi into the flats without paying.

Inside the flat Mr McCracken became concerned that the taxi driver would come after them. Miss Gascoyne said: "Rob was getting really agitated. I was trying to put him at ease saying `It's all in your head, he's not coming up.

"But Rob was getting increasingly bothered. I tried to find cigarettes but Rob got out of the chair. I heard clanging and the next thing I felt him rush past me. Then I heard the glass.

"I don't think Rob intended to do it. I don't think it was suicide at all. There was no indication that he would do something like that. It was the effect of the mushrooms.''

Detectives told the inquest there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

Forensic scientist Brian Johnson said the amount of alcohol Mr McCracken had consumed was two and a half times the drink drive limit and there were traces of psilocin in his blood.

He said psilocin was an hallucinogenic drug similar to LSD but not as potent. Initially it created a feeling of euphoria, but later a sense of disorientation plus anxiety and panic.

Mr Johnson said: "An important factor in this case was also the amount of alcohol taken." Giving a narrative verdict, Mrs Leeming said: "Mr McCracken died having jumped from a window after taking psilocin - an hallucinogenic substance in a form then legally available. It is clear the substance played a part in what occurred.

"I am encouraged to learn that these substances are now classified as Class A drugs."

She said she was concerned the new classification of the drug was not known to police officers attending the inquest - though through no fault of their own. She said she would be writing to the relevant department of Greater Manchester Police to express her concern about this.

We had a dude at the NYU library dive headfirst down to the floor after eating mushies. He'd been on the swim team.

--------------------Acid doesn't give you truths; it builds machines that push the envelope of perception. Whatever revelations came to me then have dissolved like skywriting. All I really know is that those few years saddled me with a faith in the redemptive potential of the imagination which, however flat, stale and unprofitable the world seems to me now, I cannot for the life of me shake.

Err..I don't think he was suicidal because he was on the swim team. In fact, the reason he killed himself was because the floor of our library (which has a hollow center, an atrium) is painted like an MC Escher painting...so he apparently did a perfect swan dive down into i t.

--------------------Acid doesn't give you truths; it builds machines that push the envelope of perception. Whatever revelations came to me then have dissolved like skywriting. All I really know is that those few years saddled me with a faith in the redemptive potential of the imagination which, however flat, stale and unprofitable the world seems to me now, I cannot for the life of me shake.

--------------------After one comes, through contact with it's administrators, no longer to cherish greatly the law as a remedy in abuses, then the bottle becomes a sovereign means of direct action. If you cannot throw it at least you can always drink out of it. - Ernest Hemingway

If it is life that you feel you are missing I can tell you where to find it. In the law courts, in business, in government. There is nothing occurring in the streets. Nothing but a dumbshow composed of the helpless and the impotent. -Cormac MacCarthy

He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God. - Aeschylus

I think he would have freaked out without any alcohol at all. A horrible setting, bad choices made, inability to cope with the trip turning to the dark side, no trip sitter etc. Talk about responsible use of psychoactive substances

He might have had some personal life issues:

Quote:Mr. McCracken had plans to start a new life in another city and to take a holiday.

MAGIC mushrooms similar to the type that led to a Salford man jumping to his death from the 23rd floor of a tower block are still on sale in Manchester city centre.

An inquest heard how Robert McCracken leapt through a closed window at his Pendleton flat after eating the mind-altering mushrooms.

Salford coroner Jennifer Leeming said Mr Cracken's death, at Briar Hill Court in March last year, was not suicide but was directly linked to taking the potent Hawaiian-variety mushrooms.

The 2005 Drugs Act reclassifies as a Class A drug all fungi containing Psilocin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms. The Act was passed on April 7, but the law making it illegal to sell the substance has not yet come into effect.

An M.E.N reporter was able to buy a 30g box of Colombian magic mushrooms for ?15 from Dr Herman's shop in Church Street, Manchester.

Customers can buy a range of varieties - from Thai to Mexican - stored in a refrigerator, though Hawaiian mushrooms were out of stock.

The store's owner Sean Ellman says he will sell the mushrooms until the Home Office announces the new law's enforcement date - expected to be in June or July.

A Home Office spokesman confirmed that policy guidelines were still being finalised, including guidance for police authorities.

Mr Ellman said: "In relation to the individual case, we know for certain they were not purchased from us.

"We are monitoring the Home Office website and will immediately comply with the Act when it comes into effect.

Absurd

"We clearly label mushrooms with a warning not to take them with alcohol or other drugs and never sell them to under-16s. I can understand the legal change, but it is absolutely absurd to think something growing in your garden is going to be treated the same as crack cocaine and heroin."

Robert McCracken's father Jimmy has called the magic mushroom retailers "poison sellers" and criticised the Home Office for not changing the law sooner. He said: "The police and government need to get their act together.

"If the mushrooms could do that to a level-headed person like Robert they could kill anyone."

A criminologist at the inquest incorrectly advised Mrs Leeming that magic mushrooms were already illegal.

This led to her raising concerns that police at the inquest were unaware of the legal change and writing to Chief Constable Michael Todd about the matter.

Mrs Leeming said: "It appears the evidence given was incorrect and I'm grateful I have been notified. I welcome the passing of the law and will encourage the Home Office to announce the enactment date.

"Indeed the sooner the legislation is passed the better."

A GMP spokesman said: "The law has been passed, but not enacted yet. We will await guidelines from the Home Office on how to proceed.

"It is illegal to sell prepared mushrooms and we would take action against those people.

This news article is from April or May 2004!, the link is in the pub, but that's propaganda for you...this happened over a year ago but they make it seem like it recently happened.

--------------------"What is in us that turns a deaf ear to the cries of human suffering?"

"Belief is a beautiful armor
But makes for the heaviest sword"
- John Mayer

Making the noise "penicillin" is no substitute for actually taking penicillin.

"This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it." -Abraham Lincoln

<<I wanna see an article that says "Deadly accident directly related to disorienting effects of alcohol: Should this drug still be legal?" >>

Would love to see something similar too. if you surveyed most americans i'm willing to bet a large majority of them don't view alcohol as a drug. who in the HELL came up with the phrase "alcohol and drugs" anyway? as if they were two separate entities. if anyone knows the origin please post, i'm curious.

--------------------D
Manoa said:I need to stop spending all my money on plants and take up a cheaper hobby, like heroin.

Looking for Rauhocereus riosaniensis seeds or live specimen(s), me if you have any for trade

no shit... alcohol and tobacco alone are responsible for way more deaths than marijuana or SAFE mushrooms.

(by safe mushrooms i mean mushrooms that you are familiar with, got from a trusted friend, and have some knowledge of. eating unknown mushrooms is always dangerous)

most people today really don't think of alcohol as a drug, but as its own substance. just like coffee or anything that contains caffiene, any substance that changes the way your brain works or your body feels is a DRUG, including alcohol.